


and even if we hit the ground, we’ll still fly

by lostinthesounds



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV), Julie and the Phantoms
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, just a bunch of bros being soft bro’s, mostly focuses on reggie and luke’s friendship, short but sweet, they are all there for eachother, they love eachother....platonically?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 08:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26469850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostinthesounds/pseuds/lostinthesounds
Summary: Luke, Reggie and Alex were more than a band. They were family, brothers, and family supports one another when things get rough.When things get rocky with his parents, Reggie confides in his friends for support.(Two times Reggie goes to Luke’s house for emotional support, and one time he needs reassurance after twenty five years of being dead)
Relationships: Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 435





	and even if we hit the ground, we’ll still fly

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, I definitely need a happy change of tune with writing. 
> 
> I’m not writing bellarke for the time being and I’ve been lovinggggg this new show called Julie And The Phantoms and It’s making me smile and laugh and I NEED THAT. 
> 
> please enjoy this fluff mess, love you!

_1._

Reggie walks into his bedroom with a plate of freshly made and hot chocolate chip cookies, setting his backpack on the floor with a soft thud. 

“Again?” Luke sits up in his bed, frowning. 

  
  


He didn’t need to answer the question for his friend to put two things together, so he just nodded and looked down to the floor. This fight had been one of the worst he’s heard his parents have, and he couldn’t stand the sound of his mother yelling about another woman. 

  
  


Another kid would probably be used to the arguing after years of being in the background, but not him. He thought he had a problem that he couldn’t just deal with it, like every other teenager seemingly has. 

  
  


If his dad was cheating with his secretary from his law firm, then Reggie didn’t want to know about it. He had been trying to keep his tears back the entire bike ride over to Luke’s, but the second his mother opened the oven and gave him these cookies for them to share, he let a few tears slip as Luke’s mother embraced him. 

  
  


He wouldn’t dare let Luke see him cry, it was weak and his friend was already stressed enough with writing arrangements for new songs and Reggie didn’t even want to ask about why his dad wasn’t downstairs. Or why he didn’t see his car parked outside. 

Glancing up at a tense Luke who was ripping a page from his book and tossing it to the side, he pulled himself together because his friend was also going through his own problems. 

“These cookies look good,” Reggie swallowed hard, setting the plate down on Luke’s dresser. He must look ridiculous in his plaid pajama pants and grey sweatshirt, but he trusted his best friend to give him a distraction. If only, he could call Alex to come over so they could work on some songs, but he was busy at the movies with his sister. 

  
  


“You could eat them all if you want.” Luke says, grabbing his writer's journal and the pen he set down when his friend originally walked in. He wasn’t even surprised by his friend’s arrival, and Reggie fought himself on staying because it was the fifth time in two weeks that he stayed over with no complaints. “You know how my mom gets when we argue over the band, she makes them as a peace offering.” 

  
  


“What did she have to say?” Reggie decided to pick up a cookie and munch it carefully, trying not to get any crumbs on the bed when he sits down on the edge. He sorts through some of Luke’ ripped pages of verses he’s written, already trying to think of a melody for his bass. “Is it bad? Do we have to cancel another gig?” 

  
  


“It’s always bad, Reggie.” Luke huffs, tapping his pen loudly against the paper. “I have so many ideas, so many plans for the band and she shuts them down everytime. I know we’re just starting out but—“ 

  
  


“It’s discouraging to be neglected by people who say they care for you.” 

  
  


He didn’t mean for it to come off as a personal agreement, but the look that Luke gives him makes him want to shrink into himself and leave the room. Reggie didn’t realize how closely related their issues were. He was dealing with absent and broken parents who didn’t pay attention to him, nevermind his passion for music, and Luke was being shut down by his mother who thought music was the thing furthest down the list of career options to be successful. 

  
  


“Reggie, I didn’t—“ Luke tried to sympathize. 

  
  


Reggie cuts him off, reaching for another cookie. 

  
  


“It’s fine.” Not wanting to talk about it. 

  
  


“If you’re not okay, you could talk to me. The same with Alex, you know that right?” Luke encouraged, leaning forward to place a hand on his shoulder. “Our family lives may be shit right now, but this band is for us. We’re family no matter what.” 

  
  


Reggie didn’t know what to say, so he just tried his best to smile and accept the declaration without doing anything. He knew he had great friends, a great band—but the word family didn’t mean so much to him anymore since he already felt like he lost so much with his parents. 

He might’ve lost the connection he had with his parents, but as he laughs for the first time all day as Luke throws a blanket and pillow in his face so he could sleep horizontally on the end of his bed, he knows his friends would be people to depend on. He would never lose them. 

  
  


Maybe Luke was right. 

  
  


His friends could be his family. It took him this long to realize that Luke and Alex could be his forever friends, and he never wants to forget it. 

“Night, goofball.” Luke exclaims loudly as he lays down after turning off the lights. 

  
  


The thought makes Reggie smile as he faces the opposite direction, luckily having Luke’s footboard protecting him from going over the edge. He was really thankful he had such a big bed. 

“Night, loser.” 

  
  


He scoffed when Luke kicked him in the shin on purpose, obviously not liking the nickname. Reggie didn’t get it, wasn’t nicknames a good thing? He did it first. 

He should’ve kicked him _first_. 

  
  


* * *

**_2._ **

“Reggie, calm down will ya?” Luke tried to catch up with him, but Reggie was too upset and hurt to notice his friend tripping up the stairs. 

Alex wasn’t too far behind, having ran to the kitchen to grab some of Reggie’s favorite snacks from Luke’s pantry—oreos, doritos, and fruit punch—to make their friend feel better. He almost crashed into the wall when he turned the corner to Luke’s room, noticing the boy banging on his bedroom door. 

“You can’t shut us out, stupid.” Luke shouted, trying to turn the knob. He was lucky his parents weren’t home, they had gone to the store for last minute groceries. “It’s my room!” 

“Let me break down in peace, please?” 

“We can’t do that, Reggie. I bought snacks up here and we’re going to talk this out like normal functioning adults—“ Alex thought his soothing technique was working until Reggie cuts him off sharply. 

  
  


“We just turned seventeen, genius.” Reggie sounded like his voice was muffled, probably leaning against the door in despair and neither boy wanted to hear their friend stress. “We aren’t adults yet, and honestly being an adult seems really horrible at this point.” 

  
  


“It sounded better in my head.” Alex shrugged. 

  
  


Luke nudges Alex for being insensitive, and digs his hands into the pockets of his blue sleeveless sweater. “Let us in because it’ll take too much time to find the key if you locked the door, and you know how lazy I am!” 

The door cracks open to reveal a tear stricken Reggie, arms crossed in his unzipped leather jacket. He raced out of the house as fast as possible, as soon as he saw the divorce papers under the mail, in search of his friends. So, he didn’t bother fixing how his white t-shirt looked under his jacket or taking the guitar picks from his jean pockets out before he could lose them. 

Alex races in first, opening the packet of oreos and practically shoving one in Reggie’s mouth. 

  
  


Reggie’s eyes widen, and he’s seconds away from spitting it out when— 

  
  


“ _Stop_. Eat it right now.” Alex demanded, watching carefully before Luke could say anything. “Oreos make you happy, so chew. Be happy.” 

  
  


Reggie chews with hesitation, knowing his friend wasn’t wrong. A few minutes pass, and it’s silent. He could tell his friends were waiting for him to do something, anything to let them know he was alright….but he didn’t know where to start. Or why he came here so fast. 

He just needed someone to tell him it was gonna be okay. 

That he was going to be okay. 

  
  


Reggie sighs, making his way to Luke’s bed to sit down. 

  
  


“I saw the papers under the mail today,” He says, fingers mindlessly playing with the cuffs of his jacket. Avoiding their concerning gazes, he looks around the room as he speaks. “The divorce papers, I saw _them_.”

  
  


Alex sits down on his right side, clutching the snacks to his chest. He bites into an oreo, “Maybe it’s good for them. To move on and be better people.” 

  
  


Luke sits on his left, nudging his shoulder so that it makes him smile. 

  
  


“He’s right, ya know.” 

  
  


“I know.” Reggie nods sadly. “It’s just the fact that it’s over, that it’s _finally_ over.” 

“No more fighting.” Luke prompts, and he couldn’t lie, Reggie did like the sound of an empty quiet house. 

The thing that made him start to cry was when he thought of his mom, and the way she was probably heartbroken over his dad’s affair and he couldn’t do anything about it. This would push her away farther than he could handle, and he was grateful for the shoulders he could lean on. 

(Literally) 

  
  


He leans on Alex’s shoulder, not bothering to wipe his tears when the blonde lifts his hand to pat his head in sorrow and understanding. He’s thankful for it anyways, no matter how weird it was. Luke squeezes his bicep, then reaches over to grab the pack of Oreos and Doritos from Alex’s lap. 

  
  


“I’m a little sad over this and I’m not even going through it, and I don’t wanna be sad anymore.” Luke said, all three of them smiling when he says it. Reggie was tired of this feeling too. “I say we eat these snacks and go to the garage to practice some of the new songs I wrote, what do you think Alex?” 

  
  


“Gladly.” He replied, pinching the sides of the doritos bag to pull it open. “We still need to come up with a set list for the Orpheum show in three weeks.” 

  
  


The thought makes them all happy, knowing their dreams were so close to coming true.   
  


“Reggie?” 

  
  


They should know his answer already, but the thought of playing music right now was enough of a push to get him out of this anger and sad mood shift. 

His gaze shifts between the cookies and chips, and grabs the chips eagerly just to mess with Alex. 

“Can we just talk and eat these snacks first? I can’t get my bass dirty with grease, you know that.” 

“That’s _literally_ what I said.” 

“I’m sad, I don’t listen to things when I’m sad.” 

“Are you sad all the time then?” Alex added. 

“Shut up, Alex.” 

* * *

_**3.** _

“Aren’t you just a little scared?” Alex blurted, staring you at the ceiling of the garage. Well, it wasn’t their garage anymore….since it now belonged to Julie Morina and her family. 

It wasn’t theirs for twenty five years. 

  
  


They have been dead for twenty five years. 

They were ghosts now, and neither of them knew how to handle it. They couldn’t grab onto things, and Reggie was trying to get comfortable even with a fleece blanket passing through his body like he was nonexistent. 

  
  


He may be nonexistent, but he didn’t wanna believe it. 

He was alive to Alex and Luke, and the girl named Julie that they had almost scared to death this morning—he had to say, dying was an experience he’d never want to wish on someone even if it happens to everyone in the end. A bad hot dog? He could remember the burning in his stomach if he tried hard enough—and that’s what mattered. 

“Scared of being a ghost?” Luke asked, who was laying down in the middle of the sofa bed. “Or Julie?” 

Alex scoffed, “The girl is harmless.” 

“I wasn’t the one who was crying because she kicked us out of the garage when we met her.” Reggie pointed out, trying to pick at the blanket until he could grab it. It never worked, and he was cold. 

“I cried for twenty five years incase you forgot, I’m used to it by now so don’t rub it in. It’s painful.”

Luke broke their banter off, “Julie saw ghosts for the first time, she’s justified.” swatting at Reggie’s chest and it caught him so off guard because he forgot that since they’re all ghosts, they saw each other as real so they could feel touch if it came from the other person. A small part of him wanted to grab his flannel from the loft railing to see if it would work in keeping him warm, but he didn’t wanna get up in the dark. 

“I can’t believe it.” Reggie exclaimed in awe. 

  
  


“We’re dead.” Alex took a deep breath, curling into his pink hoodie, not minding that he was shoulder to shoulder with his best friends. “Like _actually_ dead.” 

  
  


“I’m never eating another hot dog again.” 

  
  


“We can’t even eat anything now.” 

  
  


Reggie felt panic rise in his chest, letting the realization sink in. 

“Promise me something, can you guys do that for me?” 

  
  


“It depends.” Luke teased. 

  
  


“I can’t give you body parts so I don’t know if I should be concerned for your health.” Alex said, and it was so straightforward that Reggie didn’t know if he was serious. 

  
  


“Promise that we’ll stick together.” Reggie declared, thinking about their missed opportunity at the Orpheum and how much time had passed. And somehow, the universe had kept them together through it all. They died together, came back to the studio together, and somehow their music could still be heard when they play. “No matter what.” 

  
  


“Like I said years ago,” Luke began, “We’re family.” 

  
  


“Family.” Alex promised. 

  
  


Reggie knew they were telling the truth. They would never lie to him. They would make sure he was okay, and maybe Julie wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. She doesn’t seem like the murderous type, and it’s not like she could kill them for trespassing. 

  
  


Right? He can’t die twice? 


End file.
